The Ares 1-X was taken to the launch site already mounted on the Mobile Launcher Platform. The Apollo and shuttle missions were/are done the same way.

The Mobile Launcher Platform or MLP is one of three two story structures used by NASA to support the Space Shuttle/1-X stack during its transportation from the Vehicle Assembly Buildingas well as serving as the vehicle's launch platform. NASA's three MLPs were originally constructed for the Apollo Program to launch the Saturn V rockets in the 1960s and 1970s, and have remained in service to this day, with substantial alterations.